5 Social Media Resolutions Businesses Need to Keep in 2014

The New Year may have started, but it’s not too late to make some social media resolutions for your business. Check out this post to see five big social media resolutions for 2014.

The New Year may be in full swing, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late to make some resolutions for social success. With social media’s influence expanding like never before, now’s the time to solidify your business’ social media strategy and make it unstoppable in 2014.

Here’s a look a five social media resolutions well worth keeping.

1. Leverage paid ads

Consider investing a portion of your budget into promoting important tweets or Facebook posts about your business. Now that major social networks have fully monetized ads for public usage, it’s important to understand how this will affect your company’s social pages. Facebook, for example, has reconfigured its newsfeed algorithm to negatively affect organic reach, so don’t be surprised when other social networks follow suit. It’s a pay to play world in 2014, so resolving to try and leverage fully optimized social ads is a good place to start.

2. Utilize visual platforms

If 2013 taught us anything, it’s that a picture is worth far more than a thousand words if you’re sharing it on Instagram, Snapchat or Vine. With hundreds of millions of users on these interactive platforms, visual sharing is bound to reach a fever pitch this year.

Quality is important when you make your first foray into these channels, but don’t worry too much about creating an Academy Award winning short. Instead, aim for videos that show off your brand’s authenticity and personality. A genuine and interesting clip about your online business will win over far more customers and do you better in the long run.

Bottom line: If you haven’t jumped on the image-sharing bandwagon yet, start working one (or more) of those visual platforms into your social strategy.

3. Be even more transparent

If you’re taking the time to share images and videos with your customer base, it makes sense to show them something new about your company. Honesty can go a long way with customers, especially if you’re giving them insights about a product update or exciting business announcement.

Embrace your company culture and shout about it on social any chance you get. Without a physical storefront, a high level of transparency is even more essential for online businesses. Allow this philosophy of transparency to spill over your other marketing efforts, both online and off, for big gains in 2014.

4. Embrace your advocates

Advocacy is the new name of the game. Just about every business out there is on social media, so for you to stand out, you’ll need to encourage your loudest and proudest fans to keep up the good work. Try showing them your appreciation with a simple gesture, like a personalized thank you card, gift certificate or free company swag.

And your fans aren’t the only ones who can help. Keep your employees happy and they’ll be walking, talking and tweeting positive endorsements for your business. Great employees also help to humanize your brand, showcasing the faces behind the big name. So consider making a resolution to show them off via social sites or position them as experts on your website or marketing materials.

5. Know your customers

It all starts with a little research. For example, if you’re seeing more traction from your Pinterest page, consider investing more time and energy into building your fan base there. This year, social media will shift from big campaign ideas to data driven decision making, so using analytics to understand your customer base will be big. Why are you seeing more sales tied to a particular social platform? How can you convert more of your visitors to customers? By deciding to learn more about your customers’ social media habits, you’ll be better able to serve them and create the kinds of content they want to see.

So what are you waiting for? The New Year is here and it’s time to start making big things happen.

Have a few social resolutions of your own that you’d like to share with fellow business owners? Feel free to leave them in the comments below! Happy New Year and happy selling!

Lauren Hill is Volusion’s Senior Video Production Specialist and a regular contributor to The Ecommerce Insights. Always eager to learn and grow, Lauren’s background includes positions in film, social media and marketing. Though video production is her primary focus, she also really likes assorted jellybeans and animal-shaped balloon hats. Lauren is a graduate of The University of North Texas and holds a BA in Journalism and Public Relations.

Sunny Graham

We are a brand new MedSpa in Arlington, Texas by UTA. Is it possible to get guidance from you on how to use email with video to educate our potential clients regarding laser skin rejuvenation treatment?

Lauren Hill

Thanks for your question, Sunny! Absolutely. Here’s a great article written by one of our experts to help you get started with laying out and crafting your email message as a whole.

Regarding video, it’s always a good idea to keep your content simple and succinct, focusing on highly specific topics that will feed your viewers with engaging information about your product or service. I wouldn’t suggest creating a video that is incredibly long or covers too much via email, as your customer’s will quickly lose interest and bounce.

On the production side, again, I would keep your video simple, but interesting. To give you an idea of what I’m talking about, I’d recommend checking out the Wistia Learning Center where you’ll find a myriad of helpful tips on the video production process from inception to completion. This is a great place for beginners looking to rev up their visual marketing efforts, just as you mentioned.

Hope this helps and feel free to let me know if you have any other questions. Happy selling!